Review of the Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics, &Human Nature, Edited by John Witte, Jr. And Frank S. Alexander

The editors, John Witte and Frank Alexander of Emory University School of Law and the Center for Law and Religion, organize their study around an examination of eight seminal figures who lived and worked in the twentieth century: Abraham Kuyper, Susan B. Anthony, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reinhold Niebuhr, Martin Luther King, Jr., William Stringfellow, and John Howard Yoder. This diverse group includes academic theologians, pastors, public officials, and social activists. It also spans Protestantism by including representatives of the Lutheran, Baptist, Mennonite, Reformed, Anglican, and Quaker traditions. The treatment of each thinker includes a scholarly commentary of approximately thirty pages, followed by an excerpt of similar length from the author’s primary writings. The commentaries are written by leading authorities and are of uniformly high quality. In most instances, these commentaries prove more valuable than the excerpt to which they correspond. While the excerpted writings might provide a valuable introduction to the novice reader or serve as a useful teaching resource, they can only scratch the surface of th